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Labor Market Pulse
Memphis, TN-AR-MS Metro Edition
Focus: FINANCE
Memphis finance pay splits: FP&A climbs, transactional roles retreat.
-2.2%
Shelby County employment change
YoY through Dec 2025, largest decline among TN's big counties
~153/month
Memphis metro job growth pace
5-year average net new jobs, signals stagnation
-700 jobs
TN financial activities employment
August 2026 statewide decline
3.4%
Tennessee unemployment rate
vs 4.1% national rate, August 2026
This Month's Takeaways
FP&A talent is getting expensive while transactional roles get cheaper.
Memphis FP&A Manager advertised pay rose to $130,008, above the national median, while Senior Accountant, Tax Specialist and Billing Specialist pay all declined locally. Budget models built on uniform finance-department pay inflation will misallocate dollars this cycle.
Shelby County's shrinking employment base is a recruiting headwind, not just a headline stat.
A 2.2% year-over-year employment decline in the metro's core county, paired with statewide financial activities losing 700 jobs in August, points to a tightening supply of experienced local finance candidates. Roles requiring in-market audit or close experience may take longer to fill regardless of posted pay.
Tax Specialist pay is falling locally against a rising national tide.
Memphis Tax Specialist advertised pay dropped moderately to $45,122, roughly 32% below the $66,725 national median — an unusually wide gap. Controllers relying on national compensation data to justify local offers risk overpaying against actual market clearing rates, or underpaying if talent becomes mobile.
Contract staffing may be absorbing the transactional-role pay softness.
National data shows 63% of F&A leaders increasing contract engagement even as 74% plan permanent headcount growth — a pattern consistent with Memphis's declining Billing Specialist and Senior Accountant advertised pay. Falling permanent pay in commodity finance roles may reflect employers shifting that work to contingent labor rather than genuine demand softness.
Local Labor Conditions
Shelby County's employment base contracted 2.2% year-over-year through December 2025, the sharpest decline among Tennessee's large counties, while Memphis metro job creation averaged just 153 net new positions per month over five years — a structural stagnation, not a one-month blip. Financial activities and professional/business services losses at the state level compound local pressure, as Memphis's finance talent pool draws from a shrinking regional base even as national F&A hiring intent remains aggressive.
Leadership & Talent Implications
Memphis Finance leaders face a bifurcated market: local advertised pay for mid-tier roles like Senior Accountant, Billing Specialist and Tax Specialist is falling or flat while FP&A Manager pay climbs sharply — signaling employers are concentrating scarce compensation dollars on strategic finance capacity rather than transactional roles. Shelby County's employment contraction and Tennessee's statewide financial activities job losses mean close-cycle and audit-support staffing may face longer fill times even as budgeted pay for those roles softens, a mismatch that can stretch close timelines. Consider reviewing whether transactional-role vacancies are being backfilled through contract talent rather than permanent hires, given national trends toward 63% of F&A leaders expanding contractor use.
